Je vous envercifelle

Ever elusive, La Société des Timides à la Parade des Oiseaux delivers a new album where experimental rock merges with sonic performance.

Opening with “Mécontent,” a tense and abrasive piece, the record immediately sets the tone—that of a world off balance, observed with fierce lucidity.

What follows is a series of contrasting soundscapes, blending instrumental drift, fragmented spoken word, and almost ritualistic atmospheres.

True to their singular aesthetic—somewhere between Pere Ubu, Faust, and The Residents—La STPO continues its poetic deconstruction, weaving together humor, unease, and strangeness.

An intense, layered record that rewards deep listening and reveals new textures with every play.

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This release is nothing short of a sensation for attenuation circuit. After long years of fandom and the occasional STPO concert organised at the label’s homebase, attenuation circuit is proud and extremely pleased to co-release a new EP by La Société des Timides à la Parade des Oiseaux, the “Shy People’s Society at the Bird Parade” founded in 1984 in Rennes, France. With La STPO releases often spaced many years apart, we are all the happier to release one of these rare gems on our label thanks to a label collaboration with KdB Records from the band’s homebase in Rennes. Fans and collectors of La STPO may note that “Idol 2” is a direct reference to the track “Idol” on the band’s very first release, the 45-rpm EP “45 T”. As another reference to said debut, which was named after the speed of the record, the “33 T(ours)” of “Je vous envercifelle” are prominently displayed throughout the cover art.

Yes, it is true that La STPO can be classified as a rock band in some respect, at least more so than most other attenuation circuit artists. The epithets of “avant-prog” and “Rock in Opposition” are also not completely off the mark in reference to the complex structure and rhythmic versatility of their pieces (not songs, reallly), although the eclectic mix of styles they pursue can also be found in some of the best bands that trace their lineage back to post-punk.

Eventually, though, it is the dada/surrealist humour, complete with lyrics in a language that uses the French you may have been taught in school (plus several other languages of course, particularly in the wonderful “Idol 2”) as a mere stepping stone toward a secret language delivered in Pascal Godjikian’s inimitable mix of voodoo priest, drill instructor, and extraterrestrial.

If one wanted to describe the approach of La STPO in a genealogical metaphor, one may be tempted to label them the offspring of Henry Cow and Antonin Artaud, of the Pop Group and Alfred Jarry – or perhaps Gertrude Stein and the Mothers of Invention? As you see, metaphors fail, so better follow the band’s own advice: “the blind one sits down and cooks their bee” (“Tiède”) – and just listens.

File under: avant rock